The Spanish Council of Ministers passed on May 12 a new royal decree in another attempt to reform the port system in the country.
The decree will now require a majority approval in the Spanish Parliament, which is expected to discuss the decree on May 18.
Although the details of this decree have not been unveiled, the government has allegedly failed to include the participation of employers and workers in the drafting of the proposal, according to the International Dockworkers Council (IDC).
For this reason, Spanish union Coordinadora believes the decree poses a threat to Spanish dockworkers. As a consequence, the union has published a three-week strike advisory during the odd hours on May 24, 26, 29, 31 and June 2, 5, 7, 9.
“As in the case of the previous royal decree, IDC will continue to watch over new developments closely, and remains ready to escalate a collective response as needed,” IDC said.
In March, the Spanish Congress rejected the royal decree plan presented by the country’s Minister of Public Works.
The proposed measure, which is in line with the requirements of the European Union, was supposed to enable ports to hire non-unionized dockworkers instead of the unionized ones. This was expected to result in massive layoffs in the future.
The country’s unions postponed strikes several times, hoping that the government would engage in tripartite negotiations to solve the conflict.
World Maritime News Staff